What is Easter Egg Hunt? Know more about the popular tradition

Easter customs vary across the world. Some churches start Easter festivities with a midnight mass on Holy Saturday or Easter Eve. Holy Saturday, or the day before Easter Sunday, is the last day of Lent – a 40-day period during which believers fast and practise abstinence while a lot of churches hold sunrise services to observe the start of the Easter day.

Easter is celebrated as a joyous occasion and the Sunday prior is called Palm Sunday which marks the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem. Various churches begin the celebration in the late hours of Saturday through a religious service called Easter Vigil while the non–religious celebrations include the tradition of Easter eggs, which represent fertility and birth and Easter bunny which delivers chocolates and sweets to kids on Sunday morning.

The eating of chocolate eggs, however, is a fairly recent tradition, which started in France and Germany in the 19th century. Like Father Christmas, who brings gifts for children who behave, the Easter bunny too brings chocolates for boys and girls who have been good. The now-famous Easter bunny originated in Germany and was first referred to in German literature of the 17th century.

Chocolate-filled eggs or brightly painted eggs with sweets inside are common gifts exchanged on Easter. People choose to loosen their purse strings and splurge on the Easter weekend as the celebrations arrive after a 40-day lent period. Some examples of non-religious Easter traditions include a treasure hunt like search for Easter eggs, and games such as egg rolling and egg decorating.

Did you know hidden messages or pop-culture references in films, multimedia games and other media are also termed Easter Eggs? That’s because Easter eggs mimic the idea of the hunt for an Easter egg during the festival. These could be hidden messages, characters or images. It’s like a little secret that the software programmers or directors want to share, yet be discreet about them. It is a fun and engaging activity to look for these Easter eggs because it usually reveals more about the character or the plotline.